Aid to the Church in Need
GO REBUILD MY CHURCH
‘Big-Hearted’ Ecumenism and the New Evangelisation 15 - 1
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THE CHURCH IS PILGRIMAGE TO GOD’S KINGDOM An introduction to the Catholic Church by Pope Francis
In plain and simple language the Holy Father comprehensively surveys what it means to be church. Available to read online at acnireland.org
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Aid to the Church in Need
CONTENTS
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Pope Francis’ ‘Big-Hearted’ Ecumenism .......... J F Declan Quinn................................. 2 Ecumenism begins with desire for reconciliation ............................................ Fr. Martin Barta .................................. 4 Ecumenism and Evangelisation ............................ Pope Benedict XVI..............................8 Grass roots Ecumenism ............................................................................................................. 10 Ecumenism: Pope Francis leads the way......... Deacon Keith Fournier................... 12 We believe and we hope.......................................... The Bishops of Latin America ..... 16 Appreciating Aparecida ............................................. George Weigel ................................. 22 We are already making unity ................................. Cindy Wooden .................................. 24 Mightier than the mightiest storm ..................................................................................... 26 Healing the culture of despair............................... Fr. Michael Shields .......................... 28 Behind every sacrifice there is love ................... Johannes Freiherr Heereman ..... 28
Editor: Jürgen Liminski. Publisher: Kirche in Not / Ostpriesterhilfe, Postfach 1209, 61452 Königstein, Germany. De licentia competentis auctoritatis ecclesiasticae. Printed in Ireland - ISSN 0252-2535. www.acn-intl.org
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POPE FRANCIS’ ‘BIG-HEARTED’ ECUMENISM1 A chairde,
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he primary theme of this issue of the MIRROR is a reflection on the central role which Ecumenism plays in the New Evangelisation. In fact one could say that an ecumenical spirit2, is the sine qua non for authentic Evangelisation. The truth of course is that division among Christians in matters of faith and moral is a scandal and a source of scandal. Essentially it involves a refusal to accept the Will of God by those who profess to love the Lord3. Moreover it constitutes a negative witness to the Gospel in that it basically says to the world that God did not fully reveal His Truth in the life of His Son, Jesus Christ and that of His mystical body, the Church.
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ealing the wounds of a divided Church is therefore not an option which Christian Churches and ecclesial communities may choose to pursue or not. On the contrary all Christian Churches and ecclesial communities as they journey in pilgrimage towards God’s kingdom have a God-given obligation to live together, to work together and to worship together in Charity and in Truth. 1 ‘Big-Hearted’ Ecumenism is a term coined by Deacon Keith Fournier see page 12. 2 i.e. A spirit of recognising the essential unity within the wide diversity of Christian denominations. 3 i.e. that ‘all should be one’ Jn. 17:21.
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he strides taken by the Catholic Church to promote unity among the diverse Christian traditions, during and in the wake of the second Vatican Council, have been momentous and have been gathering pace. The truth is that Real ‘journeying together’ has begun, Real dialogue is taking place, Real progress is being made and Real respect and mutual love is growing among those who sincerely profess Jesus Christ as Lord. Indeed a significant degree of unity is being realised all over the Christian world. For example the Evangelicals and Catholics Together (ECT) movement has, for many years now, shared an ‘ecumenism of the trenches’ as they jointly fight to defend the right to life and the dignity of every human person in the public squares of North America and beyond. Another example comes from within what might be called the Greater Middle East where we witness Christians of all denominations being mercilessly persecuted by radical Islamists and sharing in what Pope Francis has termed an ‘ecumenism of blood’. Here the simple reality is that murderous Islamic militants don’t differentiate between Christian denominations.
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oday the suffering and the witness of the Christians in the Greater Middle East cries out for ever-greater unity among all the Christian faithful. These Christians need our prayers, our sacrifices and our material support. They need to be confirmed in their faith by our personal and collective acts of authentic Charity, both spiritual and temporal. Of course the Greater Middle East while perhaps being the most egregious of persecution ‘hotspots’ for Christians around the world, is far from being the only such ‘hotspot’. Aid to the Church in Need’s recent publication of the ‘World Religious Freedom report’ identified many other such ‘hells’ for Christians. Here Nigeria, Sudan, Eritrea, North Korea, China and Pakistan immediately come to mind.
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lso when one thinks about such places, the extreme poverty being experienced by vast swathes of humanity (Christian and non-Christian alike) who live there and in neighbouring regions comes instantly to mind. The scandalous levels of absolute poverty , criminality, corruption and social injustice being experienced in places such as the Phillipines, India, Bangladesh, throughout Africa, the Caribbean and South America simply defies description.
world’s cameras, Christian missionaries are through their presence, their words and their works bearing convincng testimony to the God ‘who so loved the world that He gave His only Son’ up to the Cross in order to redeem us, not some of us but all of us!
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s Christians we are all called to be Missionaries, we are called to share the Good News that there is a life to come. Moreover even now, in this world, we can all experience some part of the beauty of this great truth if we follow Christ’s commandment ‘to love God and (all) our neighbours as ourselves for the love of God’. So it is that the goals of Ecumenism and those of Evangelisation will be fully realised when the world can remark ‘See how those Christians love one another’. This is the ‘big-hearted ecumenism’ which Pope Francis is championing.
Beir Beannacht
J F Declan Quinn Director, Aid to the Church in Need (Ireland)
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ECUMENISM BEGINS WITH DESIRE FOR RECONCILIATION Dear Friends,
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t omnes unum sint!’ This prayer of Jesus to the Father ‘that all may be one’ is, perhaps, the most beautiful and important resolution we can make at the beginning of this New Year. Seeing the increasing divisions within our families, within our society, our political and cultural life, and not least between religions, we yearn more than ever for unity and peace.
are many theological convictions that separate us. The division within Christianity is a deep wound that stands in contradiction to the truth that this Christianity must proclaim to the world. How can we lead others to peace if we are disunited among ourselves?
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hristian Ecumenism does not mean that the various Christian But despite globalisation we are in an age confessions merely acknowledge of increasing division between nations and tolerate one and religions. War and another. True ecuterror are opening up Ecumenism begins menism must have vast gulfs of hatred that as its goal full, visappear unbridgeable. Is with our desire ible unity; otherwise it even possible here to it is a betrayal of the for reconciliation! imagine all the inhabitCross of Christ. ants of the earth coming together in unity? The prayer uttered by Jesus to the Humanly speaking it is impossible – but Father – ‘Ut omnes unum sint!’ – is not God has the power to bring it about! Unity a hope that is meant to find its fulfilis a gift that comes down ‘from above’ ment only in the ‘Heavenly Jerusalem’. and the most beautiful fruit of the Love Rather, Jesus’ prayer for unity is an urgent call to be fulfilled in the here that comes from God alone. and now. And it was for unity of believor Christians love forges unity, ers in all nations that Jesus gave His love is the first and greatest Life on the Cross. commandment. Yet although we all together profess the Cross and redemption through Jesus Christ, there
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rue ecumenism begins with our turning in humility towards the Cross and with our willingness to seek reconciliation. In this our ecumenical dialogue has, in the deepest sense, already reached its goal. It was in this spirit that Saint John Paul II wrote: ‘The witness to Christ borne even to the shedding of blood has become a common inheritance of Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans and Protestants. Perhaps the most convincing form of ecumenism is the ecumenism of the saints and of the martyrs. The communio sanctorum speaks louder than the things which divide us.’
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ear friends, may the intentions of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity stay with us, so that our love for God and for one another may grow day by day. Let us consecrate this ecumenical striving to Mary, who gave us the gift of God as the Mother of Unity. For just as the family cannot truly be a family without a mother, so it is impossible without Mary for the nations and religions to live together in peace. My grateful blessing on you all
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JESUS’ PRAYER FOR UNITY John Chapter 17 After saying this, Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: Father, the hour has come: glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you; 1
So that, just as you have given him power over all humanity, he may give eternal life to all those you have entrusted to him.
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And eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 3
I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do.
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Now, Father, glorify me with that glory I had with you before ever the world existed. 5
I have revealed your name to those whom you took from the world to give me. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
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Now at last they have recognised that all you have given me comes from you 8 for I have given them the teaching you gave to me, and they have indeed accepted it and know for certain that I came from you, and have believed that it was you who sent me. 7
It is for them that I pray. I am not praying for the world but for those you have
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given me, because they belong to you. All I have is yours and all you have is mine, and in them I am glorified. 10
I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us. 11
While I was with them, I kept those you had given me true to your name. I have watched over them and not one is lost except one who was destined to be lost, and this was to fulfil the scriptures. 12
But now I am coming to you and I say these things in the world to share my joy with them to the full. 13
I passed your word on to them, and the world hated them, because they belong to the world no more than I belong to the world. 14
I am not asking you to remove them from the world, but to protect them from the Evil One. 15
They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. 16
Consecrate them in the truth; your word is truth. 17
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As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world, 19 and for their sake I consecrate myself so that they too may be consecrated in truth. 18
I pray not only for these but also for those who through their teaching will come to believe in me. 20
May they all be one, just as, Father, you are in me and I am in you, so that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me. 21
I have given them the glory you gave to me, that they may be one as we are one.
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With me in them and you in me, may they be so perfected in unity that the world will recognise that it was you who sent me and that you have loved them as you have loved me. 23
Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they may always see my glory which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 24
Father, Upright One, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these have known that you have sent me.
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I have made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them. • 26
Saint John the Evangelist.
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ECUMENISM AND EVANGELISATION
by Pope Benedict XVI4
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uring Vatican II the Council Fathers stressed the very close link that exists between the task of evangelisation and overcoming the existing divisions between Christians. ‘Such division’, one reads at the beginning of the Decree Unitatis Redintegratio, ‘openly contradicts the will of Christ, scandalises the world, and damages that most holy cause, the preaching of the Gospel to every creature.’5 The affirmation of the conciliar Decree re-echoes the ‘priestly prayer’ of Jesus when, addressing the Father, he asks that his disciples ‘may all be one... so that the world may believe.’ 6 Four times in this important prayer he invokes unity for the disciples of that time and for those of the future and twice he points out that the purpose of this unity is that the world may believe, that it may ‘recognise’ him as the One sent by the Father. There is consequently a close link between the destiny of evangelisation and the Christians’ witness to unity.
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n authentic ecumenical path cannot be followed without considering the faith crisis that vast regions of the planet are going through. These include those that first received the Gospel proclamation and in which Christian life flourished for centuries. Moreover the many signs that 4 Based upon an address given by His Holiness Benedict XVI to the Pontifical Council for promoting Christian Unity, Clementine Hall, Thursday, 15 November 2012 5 Unitatis Redintegratio n. 1 6 Jn. 17:21
testify to the continuing need for spirituality and that are demonstrated in various ways, cannot be ignored. The spiritual poverty of many of our contemporaries, who no longer perceive the absence of God from their life as a deprivation, constitutes a challenge to all Christians.
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n this context, we believers in Christ are asked to return to the essential, to the heart of our faith, to bear witness together to the world to the living God, that is, to a God who knows and loves us, under whose gaze we live; of a God who expects the response of our love in everyday life. The commitment of Churches and ecclesial Communities to a renewed proclamation of the Gospel to today’s people is thus a cause of hope. Indeed, bearing witness to the living God who made himself close in Christ, is the most urgent imperative for all Christians, and it is also an imperative that unites us, in spite of the incomplete ecclesial communion that we still feel. We must not forget what unites us, namely, faith in God, Father and Creator, who revealed himself in the Son, Jesus Christ, pouring out the Spirit who gives life and sanctifies. This is the faith of Baptism that we have received, and is the faith that we can profess together in hope and charity.
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n the light of the priority of faith we also understand the importance of theological dialogue and conversations with the Churches and ecclesial Communities to which the Catholic Church is committed. Even when the possibility of the re-establishment of full communion cannot be glimpsed in an immediate future, they make it possible to perceive, as well as resistance and obstacles, also a wealth of experiences, of spiritual life and theological reflections that become an incentive for a witness ever more profound.
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We must not, however, forget that the goal of ecumenism is the visible unity among divided Christians. This unity is not a work that we human beings can simply achieve. We must strive with all our might, but we must also recognise that, ultimately, this unity is a gift of God, it can only come
from the Father through the Son, because the Church is his Church.. In this perspective the importance of praying to the Lord for visible unity appears but it also becomes clear that this goal is important for the New Evangelisation.
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alking together towards this goal is a positive reality on condition, however, that the Churches and Ecclesial Communities do not stop along the way, accepting the contradictory differences as something normal or as the best that can be obtained. Instead it is in full communion in faith, in the sacraments and in the ministry, that the present and active power of God in the world will become concretely evident. Unity is on the one hand a fruit of faith and, on the other, a means and almost a presupposition for proclaiming the faith ever more credibly to those who do not yet know the Lord or who, although they have received the Gospel proclamation, have almost forgotten this precious gift. True ecumenism, recognising the primacy of divine action, demands, first of all, patience, humility, and abandonment to the Lord’s Will.
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astly, ecumenism and the New Evangelisation both require the dynamism of conversion, understood as a sincere desire to follow Christ and to adhere fully to the Father’s Will. • Aid to the Church in Need +e115ei_print.indd 13
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GRASS ROOTS ECUMENISM
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lexander Men was a man of dialogue, open to ecumenism. The book crammed study of this Russian Orthodox priest, who was murdered in 1990, still retains its icon corner which has remained untouched to this day, with its pictures of Saint Francis of Sales, Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Saint Francis, Saint Anthony and Saint John Paul II. A friend of Father Werenfried, he worked for Christian unity.
ers, translators, publishers, writers and journalists, as well as the promotion of dialogue between our Sister Churches.
Christian unity, and the prelude to it, namely dialogue between the different denominations, is also the central concern of the Biblical Theological Institute of Saint Andrew the Apostle in Moscow. Its immediate goal is the theological formation and ongoing training of teach-
n addition to the lectures in the history of religion, in liturgy, philosophy and Bible exegesis, the 50 participants from Ukraine, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Russia are able to meet together in workshops, exchanging their experiences and asking challenging ques-
To further this aim it has run a Summer Academy every year since 1999, to which it has invited students and academics who otherwise would not have the opportunity for ecumenical formation. Particularly fruitful have been the conversations between its Orthodox and Greek-Catholic participants.
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‘To love what is ours is not to hate what others have’: Father Werenfried at the grave of Father Alexander Men.
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He has enlisted two Jesuit priests in Rome to translate a dictionary of theology for laypersons and theologians, in order to stimulate discussion and ongoing formation within Russia in an ecumenical spirit. You are likewise supporting this project.
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Saint Andrew.
tions. Many such questions are put by the Institute itself, such as: How much space do we give the Holy Spirit in our own personal lives? How do we live out the Good News in our daily lives? How do we view the charismatic movements in our Churches?
here are also various other books, for example on Pope Francis, which serve this end and show how one can live from one’s faith and in a spirit of reconciliation. Alexander Men neatly encapsulated the minimum necessary consent for such work: ‘To love what is ours is not to hate what others have.’ That was 25 years ago. Today we could perhaps formulate it like this: To love what is ours, and seek to know the other better. • Father Alexander Men.
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his kind of exchange represents grassroots ecumenism. It establishes a basis of trust without which the rapprochement between the Christian churches cannot succeed. We are supporting this work. The director of the Institute, Alexey Bodrov – who sees Alexander Men as a spiritual father of the Institute and wishes to continue his work of reconciliation – maintains good contacts with the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and with the Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow. Aid to the Church in Need +e115ei_print.indd 15
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ECUMENISM: POPE FRANCIS LEADS THE WAY by Deacon Keith Fournier7
n June 19, 2013, during his teaching on the Church as the Body of Christ, Francis made an extemporaneous comment of importance. It showed he carries the Prayer of Jesus Christ in his heart, ‘I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.’ (John 17:21)
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Francis said: ‘We must try to bring about unity. Let me tell you something, today, before leaving home, I spent 40 minutes more or less with an evangelical pastor. And we prayed together, seeking unity.
he shared with the faithful that he had prayed with an evangelical protestant pastor before giving his Wednesday Catechesis in St. Peters square made my heart jump! Pope Francis is comfortable being with other Christians, including evangelical Protestants. That is because he knows that we really are brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are Christians together. Of course there are real and important differences which separate us. However, the Saviour who joined us together through our Baptism should take primacy of place in the way we relate to one another.
But we Catholics must pray with each other and other Christians. Pray that the Lord gift us (with) unity! Unity among ourselves! How will we ever have unity among Christians if we are not capable of having it among us Catholics, in the family, how many families fight and split up? Seek unity, unity builds the Church and comes from Jesus Christ. He sends us the Holy Spirit to build unity!’
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ope Francis is speaking to you and me! He demonstrates what might be called ‘Big-Hearted Ecumenism’. The comfortable way in which 7 Adapted from Deacon Keith Fournier http://www.catholic.org/ news/international/europe/story.php?id=52824
Dean Timothy George with Pope benedict XVI.
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ne of the Pope’s evangelical protestant friends from Argentina, evangelist Luis Palau, was straightforward and enthusiastic about his friendship and prayer with Pope Francis. Timothy George, the Dean of Beeson Divinity School wrote a piece in June entitled, Our Francis, Too: Why we can enthusiastically join arms with the Catholic leader. Dean George wrote: ‘Francis succeeds two men of genius in his papal role. John Paul II was the liberator who stared down communism by the force of his courage and prayers. Benedict XVI was the eminent teacher of the Catholic Church in recent history. Francis appears now as the pastor, a shepherd who knows and loves his sheep and wants to lead them in love and humility. The new Franciscan moment is the season of the shepherd. Catholics and evangelicals are the two largest faith communities in the body of Christ. Without forgetting the deep differences that divide us, now as never before we are called to stand and work together for the cause of Christ in a broken world.’
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rancis is particularly dedicated to working toward some form of full communion between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. Our relationship with orthodox Christians is distinct from our relationship with the communities which descend from the protestant Reformation in the West. We recognise the
Orthodox Churches as full Churches - and we recognise their sacraments.
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n March 20, 2013 Pope Francis spoke these words to delegates of the Orthodox Churches, the Oriental Orthodox Churches and Ecclesial Communities of the West: Let us all be intimately united to our Saviour’s prayer at the Last Supper, to his invocation: ut unum sint. We call on the merciful Father to be able to fully live the faith that we have received as a gift on the day of our Baptism, and be able to give it free, joyful and courageous testimony. The more we are faithful to His Will, in thoughts, in words and in deeds, the more we will truly and substantially walk towards unity. The Catholic Church proclaims that, in and through Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, authentic unity with God the Father - and with one another - is the plan of God for the entire human race. The Church is the way toward that unity. We should want to walk toward that unity and not fear it. The Church is meant to become the home of the whole human race. For the Church to continue the redemptive mission of Jesus most effectively, she must be one. It was not the Lord’s plan that Christians be separated. It is His Plan that the Church be restored to full communion. His prayer will someday be answered.
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atholic teaching on the Church is rooted in an ecclesiology of communion. All who are validly Baptised already have a form of imperfect communion with the Catholic Church. We who are in full communion with that Church are invited to make the prayer of Jesus for the restoration of full communion and visible unity our own in the way in which we relate to other Christians.
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e need to learn from the words and witness of Benedict, John Paul and Francis and begin to act differently. One way we can do this is by using the language of communion which the Catholic Church now encourages. For example, St. John Paul II wrote in his encyclical letter on unity, Ut Unum Sint: ‘It happens for example that, in the spirit of the Sermon on the Mount, Christians of one confession no longer consider other Christians as enemies or strangers but see them as brothers and sisters. Again, the very expression ‘separated brethren’ tends to be replaced today by expressions which more readily evoke the deep communion linked to the baptismal character which the Spirit fosters in spite of historical and canonical divisions. Today we speak of ‘other Christians’, ‘others who have received Baptism’, and ‘Christians of other Communities’. The Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism refers to the Communities to which these Christians belong as ‘Churches and Ecclesial Com-
munities that are not in full communion with the Catholic Church. The broadening of vocabulary is indicative of a significant change in attitudes’ There is an increased awareness that we all belong to Christ. Relations between Christians are not aimed merely at mutual knowledge, common prayer and dialogue. They presuppose and from now on call for every possible form of practical cooperation at all levels: pastoral, cultural and social, as well as that of witnessing to the Gospel message. Cooperation among all Christians vividly expresses that bond which already unites them, and it sets in clearer relief the features of Christ the Servant. This cooperation based on our common faith is not only filled with fraternal communion, but is a manifestation of Christ himself. Moreover, ecumenical cooperation is a true school of ecumenism, a dynamic road to unity. Unity of action leads to the full unity of faith: ‘Through such cooperation, all believers in Christ are able to learn easily how they can understand each other better and esteem each other more, and how the road to the unity of Christians may be made smooth. In the eyes of the world, cooperation among Christians becomes a form of common Christian witness and a means of evangelisation which benefits all involved’.
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fully embrace the Catholic teaching that the fullness of truth is found in the Catholic Church. I returned to full participation in the Church of my
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childhood, the Catholic Church, after a youth filled with wandering and searching for truth. I followed the oft- repeated pilgrimage of many like me in those days. Had I not been raised in a Catholic home, I would have become a Catholic Christian as the answer to that pilgrimage. Some would call me a ’revert’, indicating I returned to the Church. However, I never formally left the Church. I am, what I prefer to call, ‘a Catholic by Choice’. Some of the expressions used these days, such as ‘cradle Catholic’, touch the myriad of problems we have within the Catholic Church, requiring a New Evangelisation.
Cradles do not make Catholics. This ancient but ever new faith is a wonderful treasure, given as a gift in the Waters of Baptism - which one must then find for themselves and fully embrace over a lifetime. I love the Catholic faith and have spent years in formal theological study, filling myself with its rich truths.
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owever, it is precisely because of my understanding of the beauty and fullness of the Catholic Christian faith that I also carry an immense burden to see the Prayer of Jesus in John Chapter 17 fully answered. There is a connection here. Into a world that is fractured, divided, wounded, filled with sides and camps at enmity with one another, the Catholic Church is called to proclaim, by both word and deed, the unifying love of a living God. Yet, the Body of Christ is broken - and that should break our hearts. Of all Christians, Catholics have the highest obligation to work toward healing the divisions - and promoting an authentic path toward Christian unity. There is an adage in the Gospels which has a special application in this arena, ‘To those to whom much is given, much more will be required’ (Luke 12:48). If the fullness of truth subsists in the Catholic Church, ( see, n.8, Lumen Gentium) that should not make us haughty, but humble in our relationship with other Christians. •
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WE BELIEVE AND WE HOPE
by the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean8 EDITOR’S COMMENT
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t the conclusion of the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean (Apareceda May 2007), the Bishops announced that they had embraced the challenge of giving a new impulse and vigour to their mission in and from Latin America and the Caribbean. While their message from Aparecida was primary addressed to the peoples
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Jesus the Way, the Truth and the Life
‘I am the Way and the Truth and the Life’ (Jn. 14:6) In the face of the challenges presented by this new time in which we are immersed, we renew our faith, proclaiming with joy to all men and women of our continent: we are loved and redeemed in Jesus, Son of God, the Risen One who is alive in our midst; through Him we can be free of sin, of all slavery and live in justice and fraternity. 8 MESSAGE OF THE FIFTH GENERAL CONFERENCE OF THE BISHOPS OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN TO THE PEOPLES OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARRIBEAN, Aparecida – Brazil, May 29, 2007
of Latin America and the Caribbean it is clear that it has universal application. ince the future Pope Francis was directly responsible for the drafting of the final documents, it should come as no surprise that they provide considerable insight into the approach he is taking in the area of rebuilding unity among Christians and proclaiming the Joy of the Gospel. It would not be incorrect to regard ‘the message from Aparecida’ as something of a manifesto for his pontificate.
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Jesus is the way that allows us to discover the truth and to achieve the total fulfilment of our life!
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Called to the Following of Jesus
‘So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with Him’ (Jn. 1:39) The first invitation that Jesus makes to every person who has lived an encounter with Him, is to be His disciple, so as to follow in His footsteps and to be part of His community. Our greatest joy is that of being His disciples! He calls each one by name, knowing our history in depth (cf.
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Jn. 10:3), so that we may share our lives with Him and be sent forth to continue His mission (cf. Mk 3:14-15). Let us follow Jesus! The disciple is the one who after having responded to this calling, follows Him step by step through the paths of the Gospel. As we follow Him, we hear and see the happening of the Kingdom of God, the conversion of each person, starting point for the transformation of society, at the same time that the paths to eternal life are opened to us. In the school of Jesus we learn a ‘new life’, moved by the dynamism brought by the Holy Spirit and reflected upon the values of the Kingdom. Identified with the Master, our life is moved by the impulse of love and in the service to others. This love implies a
continuous option and discernment to follow the path of the Beatitudes (cf. Mt. 5:312; Lk.k 6:20-26). Let us not be afraid of the cross, intrinsic in the faithful following of Jesus, because it is illuminated by the light of the Resurrection. In this way, as disciples, we open paths of life and hope to our peoples who suffer from sin and all kinds of injustice. The calling to be disciples-missionaries demands from us a clear option for Jesus and His Gospel, coherence between faith and life, embodiment of the values of the Kingdom, insertion in the community and to be a sign of contradiction and novelty in a world that promotes consumerism and disfigures the values that dignify the human being. In a world that is closed to the God of love, we are a community of love, not of the world but in the world and for the world! (cf. Jn 15:19; 17:14-16).
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Missionary Discipleship in the Church’s Ministry
‘Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations’ (Mt 28:19) We see how the path of missionary discipleship is a source of renewal of our ministry in the Continent and a new starting point for the New Evangelisation of our peoples.
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A Church that Becomes a Disciple Herself In the parable of the Good Shepherd we learn to be disciples who are nourished from the Word: ‘The sheep follow him, because they recognise his voice’ (Jn 10:4). May the Word of Life (cf. Jn 6:63), tasted in Prayerful Reading and in the celebration and living of the gift of the Eucharist, transform and reveal to us the living presence of the Risen One who walks with us and acts in history (cf. Lk 24:13-35). With firmness and decision, we will continue to exercise our prophetic task, discerning where the way for the truth and the life is; raising our voices in the social spheres of our peoples and cities, and especially in favour of those who are excluded in society. We want to stimulate the formation of Christian politicians and legislators, so that they may contribute in the building of a society more just and fraternal according to the principles of the Social Doctrine of the Church.
with open arms, who knows how to welcome and value each one of her members. Therefore, we encourage the efforts made in the parishes to become ‘home and school of communion’, animating and forming small communities and basic church communities, as well as in the lay associations, ecclesial movements and new communities. We commit to strengthen our presence and proximity. Thus, in our pastoral service we invite to dedicate more time to each person, to listen to them, to be with them in the important events of their lives, and with them, to help seeking the solutions for their needs. Let us bring about that everyone, in feeling valued, may also experience the Church as their own home.
A Church which Forms Disciples Everyone in the Church is called to be disciples and missionaries. It is a duty to form ourselves and to form all of God’s People in order to fulfil this task with responsibility and boldness. The joy of being disciples and missionaries can be seen in a special way in the places where we create fraternal communities. We are called to be a Church 18 +e115ei_print.indd 22
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As we reaffirm the commitment with the formation of disciples and missionaries, this Conference decided to pay closer attention to the stages of the first announcement, of Christian Initiation and of growth in the faith. With the reinforcement of Christian identity, let us help each brother and sister to discover the service that the Lord asks of them in the Church and in society. In a world thirsty for spirituality and aware of the centrality of the relationship with the Lord in our life as disciples, we want to be a Church who learns to pray and teaches how to pray. A prayer that springs from our life and heart, and which is the starting point for lively and participative celebrations which animate and nourish the faith.
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Missionary Discipleship to the Service of Life
‘I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly’ (Jn 10:10) From the cenacle of Aparecida we commit to begin a new stage in our pastoral journey, declaring ourselves in permanent mission. With the fire of the Spirit we will inflame our Continent with love: ‘you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses … to the ends of the earth’ (Acts 1:8).
In Faithfulness to the Missionary Commandment Jesus invites all to participate of His mission. May no one stay with crossed arms! To be a missionary is to announce the Kingdom with creativity and boldness in every place where the Gospel has not been sufficiently announced or welcomed, especially in the difficult or forgotten environments and beyond our borders. As Leaven in the Dough Let us be missionaries of the Gospel not only in word, but also with our own lives, giving it in service, even to the point of martyrdom. Jesus began His mission by forming a community of missionary disciples, the Church, which is the beginning of the Kingdom. His community was also part of His announcement. Inserted in society, we must make visible our love and fraternal solidarity (cf. Jn 13:35) and let us promote the dialogue with the different social and religious agents. In an ever more pluralistic society, let us integrate forces in the building of a world with more justice, reconciliation and solidarity. Servers of a Shared Table The acute differences between rich and poor invite us to work with greater effort in being disciples who know how to share the table of life, the table of all the sons and daughters of the Father, an open table,
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inclusive, in which no one is left behind. Therefore, we reinforce our preferential and evangelical option for the poor. We commit to defend those who are weak, especially the children, the ill, the disabled, the at-risk youth, the elderly, the imprisoned, the migrants. We watch over for the respect to the right that the peoples have, ‘defending and promoting the underlying values in all social levels, especially in the indigenous peoples’ (Benedict XVI, Speech in Guarulhos, n. 4). We want to contribute so that dignified living conditions, in which the needs such as food, education, housing and work are guaranteed for all. Faithfulness to Jesus demands from us to fight against the evils that harm or destroy life, such as abortion, wars, kidnapping, armed violence, terrorism, sexual exploitation and drug dealing. We invite all the leaders of our nations to defend the truth and to watch over the inviolable and sacred right to life and dignity of the human person, from conception until natural death. We make available to our countries the pastoral efforts of the Church to contribute in the promotion of a culture of honesty that will heal the root of all forms of violence, illegal enrichment and generalised corruption. Coherent with the project of the Father who is the Creator, we call upon all living forces of society to take care of our common house, the earth threatened of
destruction. We want to favour a human and sustainable development based upon a just distribution of wealth and the communion of goods among all peoples.
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Towards a Continent of Life, Love and Peace
‘This is how all will know that you are my disciples’ (Jn 13:35) We, participants of the Fifth General Conference in Aparecida, and with the entire Church, ‘community of love’, want to embrace all the continent to transmit to it the love of God and our own. We hope that this embrace will also reach out to the whole world. At the closing of this Conference of Aparecida, in the vigour of the Holy Spirit, we summon all our brothers and sisters so that united, with enthusiasm, we may carry out the Great Continental Mission. It will be a new Pentecost that impels us to go, in a special way, in search of the fallen away Catholics, and of those who know little or nothing about Jesus Christ, so that we may joyfully form the community of love of God our Father. A mission that must reach everyone, be permanent and profound. With the fire of the Holy Spirit, let us move forward, building with hope our history of salvation in the path of evangelisation, surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses (cf. Hb 12:1), the martyrs, saints and bless-
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eds of our continent. With their witness, they have shown us that faithfulness is worthwhile and possible up to the end. United to all prayerful peoples, we entrust to Mary, Mother of God and Our Mother, first disciple and missionary at the service of life, love and peace, called upon under the titles of Our Lady of Aparecida and Our Lady of Guadalupe, the new impulse that springs from this day onwards, in all
Latin America and the Caribbean, under the breath of a new Pentecost for our Church, from this Fifth Conference which we have celebrated here. In Medellin and Puebla we concluded by saying ‘WE BELIEVE’. In Aparecida, as we did in Santo Domingo, we proclaim with all our strength: WE BELIEVE AND WE HOPE.
DECLARATION OF THE CONFERENCE OF THE BISHOPS OF LATIN AMERICA
WE BELIEVE AND WE HOPE… A B
To be a lively Church, faithful and credible, which is nourished from the Word of God and the Eucharist. To live our being Christians with joy and conviction as missionary disciples of Jesus Christ.
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To form lively communities that nourish the faith and encourage missionary action.
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To value the diverse ecclesial organisations in a spirit of communion.
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To promote a mature laity, steward in the mission of announcing and making visible the Kingdom of God.
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To impel the active participation of women in society and in the Church.
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To maintain our preferential and evangelical option for the poor with a renewed effort.
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To accompany the youth in their formation and search for identity,
vocation and mission, renewing our option for them.
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To work with all the people of good will in the building of the Kingdom.
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To strengthen with audacity Family and Respect Life Ministries.
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To value and respect our Indigenous and Afro-American peoples.
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To advance in the ecumenical dialogue ‘so that all may be one’, as well as in the inter-religious dialogue.
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To make of this continent a model of reconciliation, justice and peace.
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To be stewards of creation, home of all, in fidelity to the project of God.
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To collaborate in the integration of the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean.
May this Continent of hope also become the Continent of love, life and peace! •
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APPRECIATING APARECIDA by George Weigel9
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he first thing to note about the Aparecida Document is its strongly evangelical thrust: everyone in the Church, the bishops write, is baptised to be a ‘missionary disciple.’ Everywhere is mission territory, and everything in the Church must be mission-driven. Then there is the document’s forthright Christocentrism, which reflects the teaching of Benedict XVI (who opened the assembly with a masterful address): the whole purpose of evangelism is to foster friendship with Jesus Christ, the Son of God who reveals both the face of the merciful Father and the truth about our humanity.
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he Catholic Church must figure out what is missing
in its presentation of the Gospel and its living of the Gospel:
filling those gaps is the way to invite back home those Catholics who move away from their historic spiritual home. The Catholic failure here, the bishops frankly concede, is an evangelical failure. And the answer to that failure is what they call ‘permanent catechesis’: an ongoing encounter with the Lord Jesus, deepened spiritually through Word and Sacrament, the Bible and the Eucharist.
The Aparecida Document is also noteworthy for its lack of defensiveness. If Catholics are leaving the Church and finding a spiritual home in Pentecostal communities, that’s the Catholic Church’s fault; it’s not something to be blamed on buckets of gold from El Norte and the machinations of the U.S. government (as two generations of Latin American churchmen had often charged).
9 Adapted from Weigel George; ‘Light from the South’ http:// www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2012/06/light-from-thesouth. George Weigel is Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.
Pope Francis with Our Lady of Aparecida.
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n a meeting with Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J., the archbishop of Buenos Aires and one of the world Church’s great leaders, I asked how the Aparecida Document which seemed such a break from previous CELAM documents had happened. The cardinal cited three reasons.
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irst, Aparecida is a Marian shrine, and meeting there oriented the bishops’ reflections in two directions: toward the traditional piety of Latin America and toward Our Lady as the Star of the New Evangelisation (as Saint John Paul II had named her). In that intersection between past and future, and under Mary’s protection, there was an opportunity for real creativity in facing the truth of the Church’s situation and prospects.
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econd, the bishops had regular contact with the throngs that came to Aparecida on pilgrimage: it was as if CELAM was meeting, not in some convention center or monastic enclosure, but right in the middle of the People of God on their pilgrimage through the early 21st century a pilgrimage in which both popular piety and new missionary initiatives will be part of the New Evangelisation and in which lay Catholics will be the Church’s primary evangelists.
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nd third, the cardinal replied, the bishops were surrounded by prayer:: as they discussed the future of the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean at the shrine of Aparecida, they could hear their people praying around them. Thus the fifth CELAM conference became, not another bureaucratic exercise, but a kind of retreat. There is no need to over-romanticise this: the Aparecida Document was also the result of some hard thinking and hard work.
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ut it is also true that the Aparecida experience suggests that good things happen at mass meetings of bishops when the bishops live like pastors, in close contact with their people, and when their deliberations seem more like the Upper Room of the Acts of the Apostles than an annual stockholders’ meeting. • The National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, Brazil.
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WE ARE ALREADY MAKING UNITY by Cindy Wooden
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hristian unity will not appear suddenly as a miracle but will be given to the followers of Christ step by step as they walk and work together. ‘To journey together is already to be making unity,’ the Pope said during an ecumenical prayer service marking the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2014. ‘Unity will not come about as a miracle at the very end,’ he said. ‘Rather unity comes about in journeying.’ ‘If we do not walk together, if we do not pray for one another, if we do not collabo-
rate in the many ways that we can in this world for the people of God,’ the Pope said, ‘then unity will not come about.’ Dialogue and collaboration are essential, he said, but unity will not be the result of human effort, ‘but rather of the Holy Spirit, who sees our good will’.
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ope Francis also remarked on how ‘two great popes, Blessed John XXIII and Blessed John Paul II’, felt the urgency of Jesus’s prayer that his disciples be one. They dedicated so much of their energy and teaching to ecumenism that the search for Christian unity has become ‘an essential dimension’ of papal ministry, he said.
Pope Francis at an Ecumenical service in ‘Saint Paul outside the walls’, Rome. 24 +e115ei_print.indd 28
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‘We can say also that the journey of ecumenism has allowed us to come to a deeper understanding of the ministry of the successor of Peter, and we must be confident that it will continue to do so in the future.’
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which, while in no way renouncing what is essential to its mission, is nonetheless open to a new situation”.’ Pope Francis said: ‘We have made little progress in this regard.’
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n his apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), Pope Francis wrote: ‘It is my duty, as the Bishop of Rome, to be open to suggestions which can help make the exercise of my ministry more faithful to the meaning which Jesus Christ wished to give it and to the present needs of evangelisation.’
ope Francis told the thousands of people who filled the Basilica of Saint Paul for the evening prayer service that it is unacceptable to consider ‘divisions in the Church as something natural, inevitable’, because ‘divisions wound Christ’s body [and] they impair the witness which we are called to give to him before the world.’
He noted how Saint John Paul, in his 1995 encyclical on ecumenism, Ut Unum Sint (That All May be One), ‘asked for help in finding “a way of exercising the primacy
‘We have all been damaged by these divisions,’ the Pope said, and all share an obligation ‘to persevere with humility and trust’ in the search for unity. •
PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY ETERNAL FATHER, We praise you for sending your Son to be one of us and to save us. Look upon your people with mercy, for we are divided in so many ways, and give us the Spirit of Jesus to make us one in love. We ask this gift, loving Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN
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MIGHTIER THAN THE MIGHTIEST STORM
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ever before was there such a vast gathering of Christians in this world. On 15th January 1995 between four and five million people came together with Pope John Paul II for the celebration of Holy Mass in Manila. Some 20 years later his successor, Francis has returned to the Philippines, and once again the people thronging in great numbers to Holy Mass. Many of these pilgrims have not come from their homes. They have no homes. Around 14 months ago Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful in recorded history, swept through this island paradise. And just a month before that an earthquake had ravaged the countryside. The people were still clearing away the earth and rubble when Typhoon Haiyan struck.
Someone to cling to in the storms of this life – little Angelina from the parish of Saint Isidore.
Still waiting for your help – Father Cosme Almedilla, standing in front of the ruins of his church.
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ith winds of over 200 km/h, the typhoon tore through the islands, sweeping roofs and entire huts away. More than 7,000 people lost their lives, while millions are still living amid the ruins today. Pope Francis has come with a message of consolation and hope. For this time the earthquake and typhoon did more than just destroy huts and houses. The sheer force of Haiyan also destroyed the basis of people’s livelihood, the fishing boats and the fields with their harvests. This was also true of over half the people of the parish of Saint Isidore the Farmer, in the diocese of Borongan, which lay in the direct path of the typhoon.
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hey depended on fishing and agriculture, writes Father Leroy Geli. ‘For the first time ever, the storm raged so fiercely that even all our hope was buried beneath the rubble’, he writes. The normally cheerful Filipinos were reduced to despair and are only slowly beginning to recover. Their faith helped them – and the solidarity of their brothers and sisters in the faith has helped rekindle hope in their hearts. The Pope has come with a message of mercy and sympathy. The visible signs of this practical charity and solidarity are the new roofs on the churches and the continuing financial aid, one year on, after the attention of the world has moved on, like the storm itself. Their Faith remains; but it needs a roof beneath which people can gather for
prayer, for Holy Mass. This is exactly what you have made possible in Saint Isidore,, and also in the parishes of Saint Lawrence and Saint Bonaventure (where Hayian not only tore off the roofs but also destroyed doors, windows and benches). hey also had to install new wiring and rebuild the walls. And another two dozen parishes now also have their chapels back, thanks to you. Everything they could do – clearing away the rubble, working the timbers, repairing the roofs – they did themselves. What they lacked was the money for the materials. ‘Love is the measure of faith’, said Pope Francis. And in these small churches and chapels your love is present, and mightier than the mightiest storm. But there is still much to be done and with God’s grace much we can do. •
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‘Come to me, all you who are heavy laden’ (cf. Mt 11:28): The biggest open-air Mass of all time.
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HEALING THE CULTURE OF DESPAIR by Fr. Michael Shields, ACN Evangelist-at-Large or God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.’ (Jn. 3; 17) Although somewhat over-stated one can imagine the Church in three ways.
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Firstly the Church can be seen as a fortress church where believers are neither ‘in the world’ nor ‘of the world’. This model of Church entails a case of ‘US against THEM’, believers versus non-believers. As believers, we are to protect OUR holiness by fighting against OTHERS’ unholiness and by keeping ourselves apart from the influences of the world. In this understanding of Church it is clear who is the saved and who is the unsaved: Those who are ‘in the fortress’ are the saved, those who are not, are damned.
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econdly the Church can be seen as having no walls, no boundaries, just come along. This model of Church allows all who are sincere about their beliefs to be welcomed because a place will be found for whatever it is one believes. Here we have an image of a church which embraces the world and the culture and identifies with it. All are saved no matter what one believes, one just needs to believe sincerely. In this church, believers are ‘in the world’ and ‘of the world.’
Neither of these images of the Church are the authentic image of the Church which was founded by Jesus Christ. As God’s creatures we are to live in the world which God has given us so that Christ’s Church is ‘in the world’ but we are not to be ‘of the world’ because we were created for eternal life. For this reason there are some things of this world which are not to be embraced but rather need to be rejected.
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o here we have a third view of the Church as a people of God which lives in the world, embraces life and seeks to heal life’s brokenness by preaching the Kingdom of God. It is a Church which offers the world a community of Hope and healing where Christ reigns and His values rule. Our world is broken and our culture is in need of healing and our call as Christ’s Church is not condemn but to save it. Each of us with all our own faults and failings, have been chosen by God to live at this time and in this culture with all its faults and failings, as part of the Church of Jesus Christ with all her faults and failings in order to proclaim the Good News and live Christian lives. (Acts 17:26).
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iven our calling as Christians to proclaim the Good News what are we to do when dealing with a people and a culture which passionately rejects Christian truths and Christian values, a culture which is hostile to God?
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Romans 8:7 says the mind that is fixed on this world, is a mind which is hostile to God.
For this reason we need to be ready to live with disagreement and therefore ‘learn to agree to disagree’. ‘But in your hearts set Christ apart as holy [and acknowledge Him] as Lord. Always be ready to give a logical defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope that is in you, but do it courteously and respectfully.’ Peter 3;15
II
We need to welcome everyone to church. The Bible that talks about sin talks equally about love and here is salutary to remember that everyone is struggling with something. The church is a hospital for sinners not a museum for saints. All are welcome to come for healing and help. We are all works-in-progress. To expect people to be sinless before attending church is analogous to expect people to be healed before attending hospital! Now let’s be clear we don’t wish to encourage sin or sinful desires, rather we need to be willing to walk lovingly with people who are heavy-burdened with sin, telling them that so long as they want to fight for holiness and health, we
For the Christian, changing God’s laws in Scripture or not believing in an absolute, because of popular opinion, makes as much sense as changing God’s laws in nature e.g. the Law of Gravity or the temperature at which water freezes and boils. The fact is that Christians, like every other citizen, have the right to be present in the public square and to publicly proclaim and profess their beliefs in the Risen Lord. This is what is meant by religious tolerance and is a hallmark of a civilised society. Fr. Michael Shields.
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wish to fight with them, for them, not against them. In all of this of course we are to always relate to all our broken brothers and sisters in patience and humility referring to ‘us’ sinners not ‘you’ sinner. In all of this too we should not expect the leaders of the church live perfect lives but that they should try to practice what the Church preaches and willingly seek to live out the Gospel in their everyday lives.
III
As Christians we need to toughen up and evangelise through suffering. Here we need to realise that this is a time where we have to stand up for Christ and for the church, to heal the culture and to give our best to the world. Christ his death and resurrection is the hope for the world. Believe it. Live it. Share it.
Saint Luke.
The world of politics is peopled with radicals on the ‘left’ and on the ‘right’ that fight incessantly with manufactured ‘truths’. The majority of citizens are in the ‘middle’ waiting for a word of enduring truth, truth they can live by. We need to evangelise this middle ground of people who want to find a way to live their lives freely, fully and authentically. Sin is a reality and a source of great suffering. An honest acknowledgment and explanation of sin is required in order to benefit from the message of ultimate help, healing, and hope: Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is alive, He is King of kings and Lord of lords, He makes life, death, suffering, and persecution meaningful.
IV
We need to prepare to suffer for our faith. Today more Christians are dying for their faith than ever in the history of the world. Don’t therefore let us fall limp when we are called bigoted, intolerant, shameful, cruel, unloving, homophobic, prejudiced and discriminatory. Rather remember that even when called names we are called to love and to share the hope that is within us, with respect and joy. When Jesus told us to love our enemies, He knew we would have enemies to love (Matt. 5:44). Jesus knew that we’ll see trouble, experience hardship, and be hated. And knowing this He does not invite us to run away or fight back but to endure, to persevere and to view the moment as an ‘opportunity to bear witness’ (Luke 21:12–19).
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Basically we are called to live our Christian lives so authentically that even those who disagree with us will admire the patience, the love and the life we are struggling to live. Our beloved Pope Francis believes that the Church has a tendency to be too inward-looking too protective of its interests and challenges us all to be more faithful, humble, evangelistic, missionoriented, a person and a people that is capable of saying to another, we will love you no matter what. If you and I can do that we can heal the Culture and save man from himself. ‘But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.’ Peter2;9 •
Saint Peter.
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BEHIND EVERY SACRIFICE THERE IS LOVE Dear Friends,
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t the beginning of November we presented our report on Religious Freedom Worldwide – 2014. Through our work – which we can only carry out thanks to your generosity – we have discovered the state of religious freedom in every corner of the globe. The truth is horrifying, but it must be brought to light if the free world, and above all the Christian world, is to be able to react. This will be still more necessary in 2015. How many times we have already wished one another all the best for this New Year. But I am quite sure that Religious Freedom in the World 2014 – Executive Summary
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN THE WORLD – 2014
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
in our heart of hearts what we wish still more is that the suffering of our fellow Christians in Iraq, in Syria, in China, in Cuba and in so many other countries of this turbulent world could be lessened or made to cease completely.
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can only assure you that you are contributing greatly towards this end, and for this I thank you. Often it is no more than the widow’s mite or the offerings of the little ones. And often people show their mercy through great sacrifices. Many do this, and they too deserve our heartfelt thanks, in the name of the Church in Need! Behind every sacrifice there is love. It is this love that brings salvation, since God – as Pope Francis repeatedly emphasises – desires mercy, rather than sacrifice.
VIEW THE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN THE WORLD REPORT BY SCANNING THE CODE OR BY VISITING
Johannes Freiherr Heereman, Executive President of ACN International
WWW.ACNIRELAND.ORG |1
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A ‘DROP’ IN THE OCEAN... Helping ACN – a family tradition All their lives my parents supported ACN. It was because of this that I visited your presentation on Religious Freedom Worldwide in a church in Zürich. The speaker was Doctor Paul Bhatti, the brother of the murdered Pakistani minister Shahbaz Bhatti. His words moved me deeply, and your report is extremely informative. Now I feel called on, in the tradition of my parents, to stand up decisively for your cause. Many thanks! A benefactor in Switzerland A ‘drop’ in the ocean I want to thank you so much for all that ACN does. I want to thank you for Fr. Martin and Johannes Heereman’s inspiring words in your always excellent MIRROR. The needs of the Church are so great, the persecution and suffering incomprehensible and yet with God’s infinite grace we must press on - little by little. Once again the MIRROR reflects the true Church in real need. Please accept my donation although this is only a drop in the ocean. A benefactor from Australia
...THANK YOU Dear Friends,
AMGD
Heartfelt thanks for all your prayers and support. Last year thanks to the • Mass offerings • Legacies and • Donations ACN was able to: • Provide sustenance and the means of survival to over 40,000 priests • Support the formation of over 15,000 seminarians and religious and • Distribute more than 2 million catechetical books and Bring hope to many thousands who have been abandoned and live in despair. May the Good Lord continue to bless you and your family, past and present, now and always.
J F Declan Quinn Director, Aid to the Church in Need (Irl) Where to send your contribution for the Church in Need: Please use the Freepost envelope. Aid to the Church in Need, 151 St. Mobhi Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 9. TEL (01) 837 7516. EMAIL info@acnireland.org WEB www.acnireland.org Registered Charity Numbers: (RoI) 9492 (NI) XR96620.
If you give by standing order, or have sent a donation recently, please accept our sincere thanks. This MIRROR is for your interest and information.
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Stand firm in the faith, be strong. (1 Cor. 16:13)
‘ECUMENISM BEGINS WITH OUR DESIRE FOR RECONCILIATION!’ ACN Spiritual Assistant
‘We realise all the more that we may not regard divisions in the Church as something natural, inevitable in any form of human association. Our divisions wound Christ’s body, they impair the witness which we are called to give to Him before the world’
Together in the earthly Jerusalem the Pope, the rabbi and the imam.
At the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in January 2014.
Aid to the Church in Need
151 St. Mobhi Road, Dublin 9.
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